Invalid carrier with rotatable chair



J. L. UPSHAW El AL VALID CARRIER WITH ROTATABLE CHAIR April 6, I954 I;N Filed Oct. 22, 19 1 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORJ James L. U s/m W BY aw aaiyj m W ATTORNEY April 6, 1954 J. L. UPSHAW ET A; 2,673,987

INVALID CARRIER WITH ROTATABLE CHAIR Filed Oct. 22, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 6, 1954 2,673,987 INVALID CARRIER WITH ROTATABLE CHAIR James L. Upshaw, Pasadena, and Carl J. Dolphin, Altadena, Calif.

Application October 22, 1951, Serial No. 252,520

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the class of chairs and seats and is directed particularly to improvements in apparatus for facilitating the handling and moving of invalids.

' A primary object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus by means of which a non-ambulatory invalid may be readily shifted from a lying position to an upright or sitting up position and moved to and from a toilet stool, thereby enabling the invalid to perform natural toilet functions upon a conventional type of toilet stool.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for handling a non-'ambulatory bed patient in the manner stated, wherein the apparatus is designed in a novel manner to permit such patient to be placed in osition with respect to a conventional toilet stool for the use of the latter, without having to be removed from the apparatus by means of which he is carried to and from his bed.

' A 'still further object vide an apparatus for of the invention is to properforming the above outlined actions, w hich is designed in a novel manner to permit the patient to be easily moved from a prone position to a sitting up position and to be turned while in such sitting up position through approximately 360 whereby the action of placing the patient, while sitting upright, in the desired position relative to a toilet stool may be accomplished with a minimum of handling and discomfort to the patient.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description of the same proceeds and the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described since obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

In the drawings:

, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention and shown in association with a wheeled carriage, a bed structure being shown in broken outline, and with the carrier shown extended in the nature of a stretcher over the bed to receive a patient from the bed.

Figure 2 is a view in front elevation of the carrier structure extended.

Figure 3 is a view in top plan of the device with the parts in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, a. portion of the structure being broken away.

on the line 44 of Figure 3, showing details of construction.

Figure 5 is a view in perspective of the supporting arm structure by means of which the seat and other parts are mounted upon the wheeled carriage.

Figure 6 is a view illustrating the manner in which the patient supporting apparatus is placed in position with respect to a toilet stool, the stool and wheeled carriage being in dotted outline.

Figure 7 is a view in perspective of the removable toilet seat used to replace the chair seat of the structure.

Figure 8 is a sectional detail, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Figure 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings the numeral it generally designates a wheeled carriage structure which may be of any suitable design for supporting the hereinafter de-- scribed bracket arm structure and patient supporting chair carried thereby. Accordingly a description in general terms of the wheel structure is believed to be all that is necessary to a proper understanding of the operation of the present invention.

As shown the wheeled carriage structure may comprise 'a base I2 having suitable supporting wheels l4 and it, the latter wheel being of the caster type. On the base frame structure 12 upstanding tubular arms are mounted, into the upper end of each of which tubular arms is extended a post 2!] having gear teeth 22 along one edge and having a portion of its upper end turned forwardly to provide a short horizontal arm 24.

A suitable gear and crank means, generally designated 26 is supported by the tubular standards l8 and operatively connected with the teeth. of the posts 20 to facilitate the raising and lowering'of the latter.

In accordance with the is provided what present invention there may be generally defined as a support bracket which is generally designated 28 and is shown in detail, in perspective, in Figure 5. This support bracket comprises a rigid side arm unit which is generally designated 29 and which consists of the horizontal seat bar 30 and the upwardly and rearwardly inclined back bar 3|.

Rigidly secured at one end to the top end of the back bar 3| to extend laterally at right angles therefrom is the rigid shaft 32. In order to increase the rigidity of the coupling between the shaft 32 and the back bar 3!, a brace 33 is fixed across the angle between the shaft and bar as shown.

Disposed transversely across the top of the shaft 32 at each end is a guide sleeve 34 which is formed to snugly receive an arm 24 of a post 20. Thus when the sleeves 34 are engaged with the arms 24 the support bracket will be maintained in the position shown in Figures 1 and 6 at one side of the wheeled carriage structure.

The seat bar 30 has rigidly secured thereto the short inwardly extending pair of arms 35 which are rigidly coupled to and support horizontally, approximately over the center of the wheeled carriage base frame 12, the ring 33.

Upon the ring 36 is supported a chair structure which is generally designated 31. This chair structure comprises a seat plate 38 having a central opening 39 flange 40. The seat plate around its edge is defined by the upstanding flange 4 I. Thus the seat plate is roughly in the nature of a pan having a central opening, and removably positioned upon the seat plate and maintained in place by the side flanges 4: is the removable cushion 42.

To one side of the seat plate 39 is attached, by hinges 43, the cushioned chair back 44 while at the opposite side of the seat plate is attached by hinges 45 the cushioned leg rest 46 and this leg rest has hingedly attached to it at 41 the foot rest 48.

defined by the downturned' The four defined elements of the chair structure are maintained in adjusted relation one with respect to the other by any suitable means such, for example, as the bracing link; bars 43,

each of which is pivotally attached at one end, turned around to any position he may desire as at 49a, to an element of the seat and extends across the hinge connected edges, and has its opposite end slotted, as at 49b, to receive on a threaded stud projecting from the side of an adjacent element, a securing wing nut 49c, by which it is adjustably secured to the side of the adjacent chair element.

The seat plate 38 is designed to position over the seat supporting ring 36, with the downturned opening defining flange ring 36 as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 8, and the seat plate has rigidly secured to its underside around and adjacent to the flange 40, the downwardly extending coupling arms 50 which extend 40 extending into the is moved away from the bed it can be transformed into a chair as shown in Figure 6 so that the patient will be sitting upright upon the seat 52 which may previously have been substituted for the cushion 42.

The patient can then be readily moved to the toilet stool 55 and can be turned around on the ring 36, as will be readily apparent, so asto bring him into the proper position for the use of the stool.

It will be seen that this rotation of the patient on the chair through very nearly a complete 360, is made possible by the novel support bracket 28 which has the chair attached part disposed entirely at one side of the wheeled carrier with the chair seat supporting ring secured to the inner side of the seat bar 30 and located approximately over the center of the base frame l2 of the wheeled carrier.

Each of the sections making up the seatstructure, excepting the foot rest 48, has fixed along one edge thereof a bumper body 36 for the protection of furniture, or other objects, against which the chair may be pushed.

The above described use of the apparatus has been given in connection with the transfer of a patient from the bed to the toilet stool but it will be readily apparent that the patient can use the apparatus for sitting up periods when, of course, the seat cushion 42 would not be removed and it will also be readily apparent that when used merely for sitting up, the patient can be easily moved from place to place and can be without having to move structure.

We claim:

1. An invalid carrier comprising in combinathe wheeled carriage tion a wheeled carriage having a vertically adjustable unit including two spaced, horizontal arms, a support bracket comprising a top bar having a pair of spaced, transverse collars receiving said arms whereby the top bar is horizontally supported, a forwardly and downwardly through the ring 36 and terminate in the laterally zontally from the inner side of the seat bar, an

extending and upturned holding fingers which extend across the bottom or underedge of the ring and partway up the outside thereof as best seen in Figure 8. By this means, the entire chair structure is supported upon the ring may be turned or rotated through substantially 360.

As previously stated, the chair seat cushion 42 is removable and there is provided for its replacement the rectangular toilet seat 52 in perspective in Figure 7, the same having a central opening 53 which coincides with the opening 39, of the seat plate 38.

In the use of the present device, when it'becomes necessary to move a patient from a bed such as that shown in broken lines in Figure l and generally designated 54, to a toilet stool such as that shown in Figure 6 and generally designated 55, the wheeled carriage is moved to the side of the bed and the chair structure is adjusted so as to position the seat, back, leg rest and foot rest in a common plane as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 in the form of a stretcher. By

means of the elevating mechanism the stretcher.

is then raised to a position where it can be shifted over the top of the bed and the patient isgthen transferred to the stretcher. After the stretcher 35 so that it leg and foot rest on the other side, said seat shown inclined bar secured at one end to an end of the top bar and a horizontal forwardly extending seat bar forming a. continuation of the lower end of the inclined bar, a pair of arms extending horiannular member carried horizontally by the last named arms in approximately the longitudinal center of the carriage, a chair unit including a seat, a back attached thereto onone side and a overlying and supported by said annular member, and means coupling the seat and annular member for rotating the chair on the annular mem- V berabout a vertical axis.

2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the seat, back, leg and foot rest are hinged together for disposition in a horizontal plane as a stretcher, and adjustable coupling means between the seat, back leg and foot rest by which the same may be secured in angular relationto form a chair.

References Citedin the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

